DESCRIPTION:

This mod changes the handling of helicopters in the game to make them smoother and actually enjoyable to fly. It gets rid of the aggressive "snapping back" effect when you control the pitch and roll. As a side effect, it also doesn't "wobble" as much.

The mod comes with 2 versions: one with mild pitch stabilizing, and another with none at all. Only install one version (installing the other will overwrite the first one anyway). What's the difference? Pitch stabilizing is the force that makes the helicopter's nose move back to the center after you move it up or down. With it disabled, it will not do that at all. With it enabled, it will do it, but only very mildly (nothing at all like the vanilla unmodded settings that completely prevent you from actually aiming the nose up or down past a certain degree). With pitch stabilizing disabled, the choppers tend to drift a bit randomly when flying. Nothing major though. It's also easier to aim at stuff on the ground.

Don't use this mod online - bad things will probably happen to your account.

Check here to download older versions if you want them for any particular reason:
http://sharenoesis.com/article/gta-v-helicopter-handling-mod/2188

REQUIREMENTS:

OpenIV - http://openiv.com/ - necessary for inserting the new handling.meta files into the game's archives.

HOW TO INSTALL:

-Decide if you want mild pitch stabilizing or none at all
-Install OpenIV and run it
-Open one of the .rpf files in the below list (make a backup copy of it first!)
-Navigate to \common\data
-Enable Edit Mode
-Right click "handling.meta", and select "replace"
-Navigate to the modded "handling.meta" for the version you decided on earlier - make sure it's the right one for the .rpf file you've got open
-It will automatically save your changes
-Repeat above steps for each handling.meta in each folder
-Launch GTA V


MAIN \update\update.rpf\common\data
All the original helicopters
& no turbulence for all original planes

MPAPARTMENT \update\x64\dlcpacks\mpapartment\dlc.rpf\common\data
SuperVolito
SuperVolito Carbon

MPLUXE \update\x64\dlcpacks\mpluxe\dlc.rpf\common\data
Luxor Deluxe
Swift Deluxe

MPHEIST \update\x64\dlcpacks\mpheist\dlc.rpf\common\data
Savage
Valkyrie
Hydra

MPPILOT x64w.rpf\dlcpacks\mppilot\dlc.rpf\common\data
Swift
Besra
Miljet

SPUPGRADE x64w.rpf\dlcpacks\spupgrade\dlc.rpf\common\data
Seaplane (Dodo)
Blimp

No choppers, but you can replace these to get rid of plane turbulence only (optional):

MPBUSINESS x64w.rpf\dlcpacks\mpbusiness\
Vestra

To prevent Steam from overwriting your mods when it auto-updates the game, check out this guide:
http://sharenoesis.com/article/grand-theft-auto-seperate-story-mode-online-completely/2165
You can also use this to keep your GTA Online completely seperate and unmodded for safety reasons.

CHANGELOG:

1.1
fixed Swift Deluxe - I forgot to change the pitch stabilize for it
added SuperVolito support
added completely seperate (optional) version with no pitch stabilizing whatsoever

1.0
first version



MORE INFO:

If you have mods that enable the GTA Online helicopters (and Hydra) in Story Mode, their handling will also be affected by this mod.

My mod should work with all older versions of the game also... probably. You will just be missing some of the .rpf files and can safely ignore them. Probably.

My handling.meta files are all based on No Turbulence, by squarewave (https://www.gta5-hub.com/vehicles/no-turbulence). So, what this means is that turbulence will also be disabled for all the planes when you install my mod. I also updated it to disable turbulence for newer DLC planes & choppers (up to the Executives update). If you don't want turbulence to be disabled, you'll have to edit all the files manually. I have instructions for how to do that further down in this file.

Known Issues:
-The camera still sways by itself. Not sure how to change that, or if that's even possible.
-The AI flies choppers in a bit of a retarded manner now. Might affect some missions, but I haven't tested that... nor do I think I'd be able to fix it anyway.
-The Hydra's handling is a bit weird - the nose wants to keep climbing up sometimes. Haven't figured out why, or how to stop it (yet).


TURBULENCE:
(how to keep it enabled & how to make this mod from scratch yourself)

What I changed in handling.meta:

fTurublence* = all 0 (yes, they actually spelt "turbulence" wrong) - leave this at the default if you actually like the turbulence.
fAttack* = all 0 - This is the aggressive "snap back" effect.
fPitchStabilise = I made this 0.0005 (or 0) for all helicopters (but NOT for the Hydra's hover mode, I left that at the default because it handles differently and I haven't figured out how it works yet - if you've experimented with it and figured something out, please let me know).

You can experiment with fPitchStabilise - higher values make it stabilize the pitch faster, if you're into that sort of thing. The default is normally around 0.002 or 0.001 for most choppers.